Navy Lends USAF A Hand For Grim Task

Military Sealift Command (MSC) rescue and salvage ship USNS Grasp completed recovery operations for two US Air Force F-15C fighter jets in the Gulf of Mexico March 22.

As ANN reported, the jets collided over the Gulf approximately 50 miles from Florida's Eglin Air Force Base on February 20. Recovery efforts began March 1, when Grasp arrived in the vicinity of the crash site to locate the wreckage, and ended March 22 when the last recoverable debris from the second aircraft was lifted onto the ship's weather deck.

Salvage operations, which could normally have been conducted within a week, were delayed by severe weather conditions that twice sent the ship back to port.

The first aircraft was recovered March 12 from a depth of 177 feet and the second aircraft was recovered March 22 from a depth of 185 feet. More than half of each aircraft was salvaged including their engines, data collecting devices and main computers. These items are vital to the Air Force's investigation to determine the cause of the crash.

The salvage operations were conducted jointly by Grasp's crew of 28 civil service mariners and 20 Sailors from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2, based at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, VA. MDSU-2 is not permanently assigned to Grasp, which also carries a detachment of three Sailors to perform communications functions.

Since the exact position of the wreckage was unknown, the ship's civilian crew worked in cooperation with Sailors of MDSU-2 to locate the debris by combining the ship's navigational information with data obtained from the dive unit's locating equipment. Upon arrival at each site, Grasp's civilian crew anchored the ship directly above the wreckage and the divers submerged to prepare the debris for recovery. Grasp's 40-ton boom then lifted the wreckage out of the water using a cable that was attached by the divers.

"This recovery operation was extremely difficult," said Grasp's civilian master, Capt. Jose Delfaus. "The wreckage was scattered across a wide area and the divers had to overcome dangerous depths and diving conditions. Some of the wreckage was so entangled that it took several dives to complete the mission."

Four Air Force personnel, including a civilian wreckage photographer, were aboard Grasp during the salvage operations to conduct the initial research and data analysis about the crash.

The crash claimed the life of one of the two pilots; both were recovered the day of the accident. The jets were assigned to the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base.

Grasp is one of MSC's four 255-foot salvage and recovery ships that are able to deploy rapidly to recover objects from the sea, tow stranded vessels and provide firefighting assistance.

(Aero-News thanks Laura M. Seal, Military Sealift Command Public Affairs)

FMI: www.navy.mil